The special edition models created by Jacob and Co. commemorate the significance of a project using high-end uniquely designed timepieces equipped with first-class movement technology. A movie series as well-known as The Godfather calls for a design that will stand out, so others around know you mean business. Jacob and Co. is proud to announce the release of its new addition to the Opera Godfather Collection. The most noticeable difference of the newly styled 49mm Opera is the diamond-set case and dial. A triple-axis tourbillon powers the watch and features a two-cylinder Swiss music box, which plays the theme song from The Godfather on demand. As if the theme song couldn’t give away the movie, a godfather figurine and logo are incorporated into the dial. A sleek black large-scale alligator leather strap makes for a comfortable wear while tying the dark design together. The Opera God Father Diamond timepiece by Jacob and Co. was styled exactly how the notorious boss of an Italian gang would want it, with tons of gold and diamonds.
The Opera Godfather Minute Repeater uses a series of artistic details and high watchmaking complications to tell the story of one of the greatest films ever made, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather. It was created in a novel partnership with Paramount Pictures, the production and distribution company of the famous feature film.
Powered by its exclusive, 758-component JCFM07 movement, the Opera Godfather Minute Repeater features a bespoke two-cylinder music box that plays the first 120 notes of The Godfather theme and a minute repeater. In addition, it relies on a spectacular triple-axis gravitational tourbillon and a time display subdial to represent Jacob & Co’s cutting-edge watchmaking expertise. There has never been a watch with this combination of complications.
Artistic details include the film’s iconic logo on a black painted 18K gold plate, and a a hand-painted replica of a piano with a portrait of the Godfather himself. For the Opera Godfather Minute Repeater Diamond Barrels, the two cylinders are made of 18K rose gold and paved with 666 brilliant round diamonds.
These artistic flourishes and high watchmaking complications are combined in a well-balanced dial display that presents the epic crime story in glorious sight and sound. Like the film, the Opera Godfather Minute Repeater is a timeless work of high technical expertise and fine art. The creation of the Opera Godfather marks the first time Paramount has partnered with a watch company in this way and it was a challenge to secure the rights. Once the deal was done, however, Paramount agreed to license the music and the Godfather logo to Jacob & Co.
The tourbillon was originally invented to improve accuracy of a pocket watch by countering the effects of gravity. The Opera Godfather brings this more than 220-year-old invention to the same levels of refinement and complexity that its musical box complication and dial assembly represent.
Composed of a total of 104 components that altogether weigh just 1.15 grams, the triple-axis tourbillon of the Opera Godfather is at the forefront of modern watchmaking. With an average component weight of just 0.011 grams (0.00039 ounces), it is a spectacular constellation of barely visible parts that, when assembled and fine-tuned expertly, fulfill the primary duty of a precious timepiece: accurate timekeeping.
The triple-axis tourbillon’s delicately detailed assembly rotates on three axes simultaneously: a full rotation on the 1st axis takes 180 seconds, on the 2nd axis 48 seconds, and on the third axis 24 seconds to complete. This makes for a bold new look at how tourbillons can function, when engineered with cutting-edge, ultra-modern technologies and timeless horological heritage in mind.
Long regarded the most complicated of movements, the minute repeater was the height of luxury when it was first introduced in the 1600s, the equivalent of a church clock in a timepiece. Getting the minute repeater perfect, from precision and tonal standpoints, is a huge challenge, and that’s why only a handful of brands include minute repeaters in their collections.
The minute repeater in the Opera Godfather Minute Repeater uses two hammers to strike exposed circular gongs to sound out the hours, the quarters of hours, and the minutes. In the Opera Godfather Minute Repeater, the gongs circle above the dial, visible through the large sapphire crystal and rose gold case. This voluminous case enhances the clarity, tone, and richness of the sound of the gongs.
The minute repeater is actuated with a slide at 9 o’clock and the music is started by pressing the pusher at 8 o’clock. The watch is wound via the violin-shaped handle at 3 o’clock, and set using an 18K gold lift-out bow on the case back. The power reserve for the movement and the music box function are separate – the watch has a power reserve of 44 hours, while the music can be played three times before you must wind it again. Chiming mechanisms represent some of the most complicated and challenging haute horlogerie complications. The Opera Godfather brings the rarest type of audible complications to front: a musical box, engineered into the strict constraints of a wristwatch and designed to play the iconic theme music of The Godfather, recreated into this purely mechanical format in official partnership with Paramount Pictures.
A single press on the pusher at the 10 o’clock position of the case – crafted from 18K Rose Gold – initiates the chiming mechanism and sets more than 700 components into motion. A pair of uniquely crafted cylinders begin to rotate at a finely calculated tempo, brushing their 30 teeth against a pair of combs to evoke a total of 120 notes of the original movie theme. Unlike the other timepieces in the Opera Collection, the dial is static, the skeletonized hour and minute dial appearing to float in the center of the timepiece. Managing the power of the watch is critical, as now the timepiece adds a minute repeater, so the 758-component movement must be robust enough to power the triple-axis tourbillon, the Swiss music box, and the minute repeater, while also being precise enough to manage the timekeeping and the coordination with the chiming of the minute repeater.
The Opera Godfather Minute Repeater adds yet another Grand Complication to the Jacob & Co. collection. Combining the Swiss Music Box with a triple-axis tourbillon and a minute repeater just might be an offer you can’t refuse.